Food

Manners / Requests

Cantonese Pronounciation	Meaning
Lai ho mah. /  lei hou ma	Hi there.   (ni hao mah is the same greeting, but in Mandarin)
M'goi.	Thank you (for service). Also "Service please!"
Doh jeh	Thank you (for a gift / more formal).
Ding gwa gwa!	Really good! (ie: Yummy!)
tIng yt gin / Chen yat gin	See you tomorrow!
sIk fan	Bon Appetit!
m goi mai dan	bill please (in a restaurant)
dzi gn	napkin
tsoi dan	menu
Mm chan	lunch special
m goi (lœng) wi	a table for (two), please
m goi lo (yt fu tsa) bei o	can you please bring me (a fork)?

Table Items

Cantonese Pronounciation	Meaning
Fai tje  / fai dzi	Chopsticks
tsa	Fork
tsi gn	Spoon
dou	Knife
dzi gn	Napkin

Drinks

Cantonese Pronounciation	Meaning
Yut bui yeet nai cha.	One cup hot milky tea
Yut bui dong nai cha.	One cup iced milky tea.
Yut bui dong ga fey.	One cup iced coffee.
Yut bui dong yeen-yuung.	One cup iced coffee-and-tea (half & half).
Yut bui dong suh-oh	One glass of cold water
Yut bui yeet nai cha.	One cup hot milky tea

Other dishes

Cantonese Pronounciation	Meaning
Yut wun jing sooy gow.	One bowl of ONLY sooy gow (shrimp & mushroom dumplings) in soup
Yut wun sooy gow mein	One bowl of sooy gow (shrimp & mushroom dumplings) with egg noodles in soup
Lai tong	Daily chinese soup.
Ga lai hoi sin	Curried (ga lai) seafood (hoi sin).
Yut deep gai lan.	One dish gai-lan (Chinese broccoli with Oyster sauce).
Dao miu	Snow pea shoots
Char siu	BBQ pork (at restaurants with "hanging meats")
Yow gai	Soya-sauce chicken  (at restaurants with "hanging meats")
Siu nap	BBQ Duck (at restaurants with "hanging meats")
Siu yok	Crispy-skin roast pork (at restaurants with "hanging meats")
Soy gao mein	shrimp & mushroom dumplings in egg noodle soup.
Ga lay ow lam	Curry beef flank
Gai lay gai	Curry chicken
Fan	Rice
Fun / ye fun	Spahetti
Lo song tong	Tomato soup
Lam gwa hoi sin	Seafood with Japanese pumpkin sauce
Guang jao ho fan	Beef with black bean sauce on rice
Si jiu ho fan	Beef with pepper sauce on rice
Jah leung	Chinese Donut with rice wrapper (and usually some small dried shrimp)
Yao dtsa gwai	Same as jah leung, but just the donut – no rice wrapper
Dahn tsan	Sweet crispy Chinese honey donut
Now Jap	"bowl of guts" (actually translates to 'beef junk')
Dau fu fa	blended tofu with sugar syrup (dessert) Great to settle the tummy!
Mongo bo dien	Mango pudding (usually served with condensed milk)
Now bak yeep	Steamed pork tripe
Chun gyun	Spring Roll
Yo si chow mein	? with fried egg noodle
Som si chow mein	? with fried egg noodle

A great colloquial everyday Cantonese language reference can be found at cantonese.ca

Har gow - Steamed Shrimp Dumpling	Siu mai - Steamed Pork Dumpling	Cha so bow - steamed BBQ pork bun (you can also get chicken buns)	Dja har gow - Deep fried shrimp dumplings with mayonnaise dressing
Foon gor - steamed seafood dumpling (shrimp / scallop)	Fung jao - Steamed chicken feet	Ga lai mak yu jai - Steamed cuttlefish (usually curried)	Now bak yeep - Steamed pork tripe Now jap yeep - Steamed beef tripe
Fried Beancurd shrimp rolls	Lo mai gai - sticky rice wrapped in Lotus leaf	San jook now yook - Steamed beef meatballs	Jai har - Ground shrimp wrapped around sugar cane
Yueng nai gwa - Eggplant stuffed with ground fish / shrimp.	Seaweed shrimp roll. Regency Palace in Calgary does a Seaweed salmon-with-peach roll that is my favourite anywhere!	Sin-jyook-kyun - Steamed bean curd roll	Hack jui pai gwat - Black pepper beef short ribs
Si jiu pai gwat - Steamed pork spareribs	Gai bao - Baked chicken bun	Dai ji gao - Steamed scallop & shrimp dumpling	Yueng chang jiu - Green pepper stuffed with ground fish
Har chung fan - shrimp rice pancake (served with sweet soya)		Lo mai fan - No mai rice bowl.	Other Dim Sum items that I don't have pictures for: Now Jap - "bowl of guts" (actually translates to 'beef junk') Dau fu fa - blended tofu with sugar syrup (dessert) Great to settle the tummy! Mongo bo dien - Mango pudding (usually served with condensed milk) Now bak yeep - Steamed pork tripe Chun gyun - Spring Roll